Home Department: Bioengineering
Mentor: Scott Owen (Neurosurgery)

“Characterizing the Physiological Mechanisms of Deep Brain Stimulation in a Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease”

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes difficulties with motor and cognitive symptoms that severely impairs quality of life. Deep brain stimulation is a remarkably effective treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson’s; however, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Jenny’s project seeks to characterize the physiological mechanisms of DBS in a mouse model of Parkinson’s by (1) building and troubleshooting experimental tools for DBS and operant mouse behavior, (2) performing stereotaxic surgery to generate parkinsonian mice, and (3) collecting and analyzing behaviorial data through machine learning. These mechanistic insights will be important for advancing existing treatments in the clinic.